


Rose Petals

by bioticbootyshaker



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Falling In Love, Fluff, Gen, Love Confessions, M/M, romantic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-05
Updated: 2012-10-05
Packaged: 2017-11-15 17:01:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/529537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bioticbootyshaker/pseuds/bioticbootyshaker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After weeks of dealing with his feelings for Steve silently, James gets advice from his friends on how to handle his feelings for the man.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rose Petals

**Author's Note:**

  * For [yarnandtea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yarnandtea/gifts).



Cortez picked up the rose, not even aware he was smiling until Vega chuckled and told him if he grinned any wider he’d split his face in half. It had been a long time since Steve had been treated romantically -- even when Robert had been alive he hadn’t been all that romantic; granted, Steve felt sure that sacrificing his life so Steve could live more than made up for a few missed anniversary dinners and candles burning themselves out over an uneaten dinner. 

“I wonder who coulda put this here,” Steve said, side-eyeing James with his grin softening to a smirk.

“Beats me, Esteban,” James said. He tucked his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels. “Must be a secret admirer or something. Damned if I know what they see in you. I like my flyboys a little flashier.”

“Not flashy enough for you, Mr. Vega?” Steve asked, “What do you want me to do, pull a stunt like you did back on Mars?”

“Well, yeah, for starters,” James said, “Never gonna win a war playing by the rules, Esteban.”

Steve chuckled, breathing in the scent of the rose slowly. 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Steve murmured.

****

_Smooth move, pendejo_ , James thought, burying his face in his hands. He’d have the perfect opportunity to tell Steve how he’d felt and he’d blown it. For weeks he’d been wrestling with his feelings for the man, promising himself today was the day he would get Steve alone and tell him how he wanted him and needed him and couldn’t see himself being complete without him; and every today became tomorrow, every tomorrow became the day after that. 

It wasn’t like they had all the time in the world. It was likely they were all running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off for no good reason. The Reapers meant to end them, and unless there was some kind of miracle -- Vega included the construction of the Crucible as one big fucking miracle indeed -- there wasn’t a damn thing they could do to stop them.

_So go and find him_ , he thought, _Go and tell him. Mierda, he’s not a fuckin’ mind reader_. 

The problem wasn’t that they were short on time, and it wasn’t that James felt that Steve would reject him -- the problem was that James was in way over his head. The things he wanted Steve to do to him, the things he wanted to do to Steve, the way he could get lost in his eyes for an entire night if he wasn’t careful -- _those_ were what held him back.

How did you put that kind of stuff into words?

“More gifts,” Shepard recommended, “A person always likes gifts. Just last week I picked up Kaidan this stuffed Blasto, and he just about wore me out with---”

“Loco, come on,” James muttered, his face twisting. “Don’t.”

Kaidan’s recommendation was a romantic dinner, a little better than Shepard’s suggestion, but not by much. “A guy doesn’t say no to a good steak sandwich,” Kaidan said.

“Not sure Esteban likes steak sandwiches.”

“Oh,” Kaidan murmured, rubbing his chin. “Well, then... What’s so great about him?”

Everyone had their own advice to give him; although none disturbed him as much as Mordin, who suggested he use drugs to induce the desired state in Cortez. James just backed away slowly from him, not sure whether he should actually be _running_ for the door.

“Be honest with him,” Liara told James, “He’ll never know until you talk to him.”

“Scars said I should get him drunk,” James muttered.

“Yes, well, as you’ve no doubt noticed, ‘Scars’ spends all of his time calibrating engines and hasn’t had a lover in... more time than he cares to remember, I’m sure.” Liara smiled at James, touching his shoulder gently. “Be open with him.”

“Feel like I’m drowning, Doc,” James whispered. His face was burning and he looked down at his feet. He’d never said something like that out loud before. Hell, he’d never even _thought_ something like that before. “Feels like I’m just... waiting for him to come and save me. Shit.”

Liara chuckled. “Yes, tell him that,” she said.

****

Steve followed the rose petals down the hallway, his heart beating a little too hard and his mouth a little too dry. He expected to walk into his room and find one of two things waiting for him: Vega would be naked in his bed (cliched but not something Steve would be disappointed in seeing) or there would be a note tucked somewhere discreet for him to find. He hoped for the former; at least then the game would be over. No matter what happened, Steve was getting a little tired of being jerked around.

Neither of those things awaited him when he stepped into his quarters. Well, James was on his bed, but he was sitting up and fully clothed. He was flushed and scrubbing sweat from his brow with the back of his hand when Steve stepped in.

“So... yeah here’s the thing,” James said, “You know, I’ve been talkin’ to everyone and getting a lot of, uh, conflicting advice. You don’t like steak sandwiches or Blasto... You don’t drink that much either. You don’t wanna take moonlit walks or any of that crap. You’re a simple kinda guy, right, Esteban?”

“Depends,” Steve said.

“On what?”

“On who’s asking,” Steve said, smiling at James crookedly. “I’ve been known to take some walks, Mr. Vega, once or twice. If the night is nice and the guy is right.”

“So I guess I just wanted to tell you that I... I mean, there’s not much time for this coy crap I’ve been tryin’. We don’t know how many tomorrow’s we got now.” James knew he sounded stupid, and he knew Steve was probably ready to grab him by the back of his t-shirt and haul him out of his room. “So I guess I just wanted to say---”

His tongue was too tangled. He couldn’t say everything he wanted to say. He couldn’t tell Steve that when he looked at him -- when he looked at him and Steve didn’t know he was looking -- he wanted to take all of the pain and sadness into himself so he could breathe a little easier. He couldn’t tell Steve that sometimes, when everything was quiet and the galaxy was still ticking after another day against the Reapers, James would see him and he be inexplicably happy to be alive.

The most James could say was, “You wanna take a walk with me, Esteban?”

Steve must have heard all of those truths buried under the simple invitation. Of course he did, he might not have been a flashy flyboy, but Steve Cortez had always been one hell of a _smart_ flyboy.

“Yeah,” Steve said, letting his fingers push through Vega’s hair. “I’d like that, James.”


End file.
